This Boy's Life Part 2, Chapter 3 Summary

  • The womenfolk at the boardinghouse decide to rent a house together. Jack's mom picks a giant dump. The other women don't like it, but move in nonetheless.
  • Kathy gives birth shortly thereafter, to a little chatterbox named Willy.
  • Jack and Marian get to take care of Willy while Kathy and Jack's mom work in the day. Marian thinks Jack needs more discipline, but as Jack explains, his mother—who was abused by her own father—is having none of it.
  • Jack and the two Terrys break into the school on Halloween and smash the windows in the cafeteria. They get away with it, despite pressure from the police and the school principal.
  • They get bold, continuing their vandalism and stealing things. Jack thinks he's a pretty good thief, who gets away with it because he's so awesome instead of the shopkeepers thinking that he's not worth the trouble.
  • Kathy and Marian get engaged, and decide that Jack's mom needs to get engaged too. A depressing series of would-be boyfriends follows.
  • Then Dwight shows up. He seems better than the other suitors, but only because he keeps coming back. He lives three hours away and keeps making the drive. Jack sees through his attention and his cheap suits in a minute.
  • Jack makes fun of Dwight when he leaves, and gets the women to laugh, even though Marian disapproves.